ReturnChina will raise the additional tariffs on products imported from the United States to 125 percent, effective from Saturday, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced Friday.
The announcement follows the U.S. move to raise the "reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese imports to 125 percent. The commission said the U.S. imposition of excessively high tariffs on China seriously violates international economic and trade rules, goes against basic economic laws and common sense, and is nothing but unilateral bullying and coercion.
Also on Friday, a Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson said that the United States should take full responsibility for its unilateral tariff measures, which have caused significant disruptions and severe turbulence in the world economy, global markets and the multilateral trading system.
The spokesperson said that the U.S. move to postpone imposing high tariffs on certain trading partners under pressure from China and other parties represents only a symbolic and minimal step, and the nature of using trade coercion by the United States for its own gains has not changed.
China urges the U.S. side to immediately correct its wrong practices and cancel all unilateral tariff measures imposed on the country, the spokesperson said.
The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said that even if the United States imposes even higher tariffs, it would no longer make economic sense and ultimately go down as a joke in world economic history.
"Given that it's already impossible for the Chinese market to accept U.S. imports at the current tariff level, if the United States imposes further tariffs on Chinese products, China will ignore it," the commission said.
However, should the United States persist in substantially undermining China's interests, China will take firm countermeasures and fight to the end, the commission added.
"China remains open to consultations with the United States, but believes that threats and pressure are not the correct approaches to engage with China," the commerce ministry spokesperson said, urging the United States to resolve differences with China through dialogue based on mutual respect.
